Editor’s note: May 6-12 is Nursing Week! This story is one of several we’ll post this week to celebrate and showcase the many different types of nursing roles in Northern Health in honour of Nursing Week!

Jolene organizes community events as a way for people to disconnect from trauma, stress, or anxiety. The handbag making workshop was a big success!

“I know that I need to be flexible in my role. I need to be ready when the people are ready,” says Jolene Pagurut, a nurse on the Mobile Support Team in Quesnel.

Jolene travels to provide mental health and wellness support to three Southern Carrier Nations around Quesnel – Lhoosk’uz, Ndazko, and Lhtako. This Mobile Support Team is a partnership with Northern Health, First Nations Health Authority, and the three nations. The communities have renamed this Mobile Support Team to “Dakelh Wellness.” Dakelh is the Carrier word for Carrier.

“The best part of this position is the people from the communities I serve – being able to help people along their healing journey in a good way,” says Jolene. “The support of Northern Health, the community leaders, elders, and First Nations Health Authority makes it possible to use traditional and creative interventions to meet people where they are at and to help them reach their wellness goals. Really, so much of the success of this program is the partnership with NH and the community leaders.”

Right now, Jolene is the only team member, but works very closely with the team of health care professionals that provide primary and community care in Quesnel. A social worker will be joining Dakelh Wellness on May 15, and they’re looking for a counsellor for the team as well.

Jolene works to help people overcome the discrepancies in the social determinants of health, including things like low-income, housing, access to food, and other challenges with navigating the health care system. She supports individuals who live on and off reserve. Many of them are couch surfing or homeless and she’ll go to help them where they’re at – in their homes, on the riverbank, in a homeless shelter, or on the street.

Jolene has also gotten people together to make baked goods for the Elders.

This is Jolene’s third year in the role and she’s now better known in the community. She now knows where the people are. Jolene often receives messages from family members who will let her know they’re worried about a family member and tell her where they can find them. Jolene will go to them, wherever they may be at the time, and bring them a coffee or water and sit with them, listen, and help with setting goals with where they’re at. The next time she meets with them, she’ll help them move towards their bigger goals.

“My hope is that when I find them somewhere, I’ll leave them in a better place than when I found them. This often involves using harm reduction strategies and lowering barriers to receiving health care. For example, providing naloxone training and kits, or talking to someone who’s using IV heroin about smoking instead, or giving them new needles,” says Jolene. “The next time I meet them, they might be interested in hearing about the Suboxone program.”

The people that Jolene works with are overcoming so many challenges; many are homeless or live over two hours away from Quesnel. Some individuals have challenges with reading and writing, and Jolene is able to help them with filling out forms or better understanding medications. Jolene will also help by taking them to the pharmacy, or connecting with the pharmacist and making a plan to get the medication out to them in the community. They work to help their patients overcome the barriers in creative and meaningful ways.

“Filling a prescription when the person lives two hours away can be like a relay race – we get the prescription at the pharmacy in Quesnel and can get it on a medical van to one community and another community member can bring it to the final destination. We work hard and make it happen,” says Jolene.

Jolene also organizes community events as a way for people to disconnect from trauma, stress, or anxiety. She held a handbag making workshop last week. The intent was to train the elders to make the handbags and then they would teach the youth.

It turned out that some of the Elders were experts at sewing and were farther ahead than expected; they had to provide additional projects for them to work on. The youth also caught on very quickly and were soon helping the Elders. The event was a huge success, with people showing up at 8 am and staying until midnight. In the past, Jolene has also organized a food-dehydrating workshop and a canning workshop.

“It’s all about listening to what they want to do,” says Jolene.

Some of the other work Jolene does includes managing people with severe and persistent mental illness, working with the methadone doctor and doing Suboxone inductions, and referring individuals or families to treatment. She works with the team of health care professionals in the community and connects patients to the team for other services when needed, and will also attend doctor’s appointments with the patient. She strongly advocates for the patient. If she’s already in the community for a visit and something else comes up, like a dressing change on a wound or a baby check, she’ll use Skype or Telehealth and connect the family to a doctor right away.

“I’m working to help people increase their safety and support. I’m a safe person to talk to who can connect them to more people for physical, emotional, mental, spiritual support. I’m building on what’s already there with such resilient people,” says Jolene.

Bailee is a communications advisor in the Primary Care Department and was born and raised in Prince George. She graduated from UNBC with an anthropology degree and loves exploring cultures and learning about people. When not at work, Bailee can be found hanging out with her dogs, building her house with her husband, or travelling the world.

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